The Senate legal affairs committee has rejected a motion calling for it to take a $50,000 field trip to the African Lion Safari in southern Ontario to see the zoo's elephant exhibit, as it studies a government bill that would prohibit new captivity and breeding of elephants and great apes without a license that shows it is for conservation, science or the animal’s welfare. Lucy the elephant at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, in Edmonton on Tuesday March 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
OTTAWA – The Senate legal affairs committee has rejected a motion calling for members to take a $50,000 field trip to the African Lion Safari in southern Ontario to see the zoo’s elephant exhibit.
The committee is studying a government bill that would prohibit new captivity and breeding of elephants and great apes without a license that shows it is for conservation, science or the animal’s welfare.
Conservative Sen. Don Plett says the bill would have the biggest impact on the African Lion Safari, a drive-through zoo northwest of Hamilton which is home to 17 elephants.
He says it is offensive that senators don’t want to take the time to visit in person before passing a bill that could kill a family-owned business.
Sen. Marty Klyne from the Progressive Senators Group, says he doesn’t agree with spending $50,000 of taxpayer money to get a one-sided view of elephant captivity, and that the cost would be even higher to also visit an elephant sanctuary for comparison.
Klyne says the science on the impact of captivity on elephants is clear and the bill must pass.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2024.
